


Give Us A Chance

by midnight_dream



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, M/M, boss johnny, secretary doyoung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29174403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_dream/pseuds/midnight_dream
Summary: Doyoung has worked for Johnny for many years.When his unrequited feelings become a bit too much for him to handle, he realizes he needs to move on with his life to get over it.Why was loving Johnny so complicated?
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92
Collections: johndofest - round one





	Give Us A Chance

**Author's Note:**

> I took many, many creative liberties with this prompt but I hope it is still enjoyable. 
> 
> Thanks to the mods for everything they've done to create such a wonderful fest!
> 
> [Prompt #18: what's wrong with secretary kim au]

There are very few moments in the day when Doyoung can rest his eyes. From the time he wakes up until the time he goes to bed (usually these are within four to five hours of each other). There are very few moments in the day when Doyoung can actually rest his eyes. From morning to night he is preoccupied with his job. 

5:45am: Wake up   
6am: Get dressed and make way over to Office  
7am: Arrive at the office and brief director  
7:30am: Coffee Run  
8am: Check on his interns  
8:30am-?pm: Manage and organize Johnny’s life 

And repeat.

It’s a recurring cycle in his life. His best friend Taeyong thinks he’s a bit mad for being able to work round the clock the way he does. His brothers Jeno and Jisung have expressed their annoyance, too, since they find it difficult to find time to hang out with their older brother. But Doyoung is content.

Or at least he was. 

It all started when he went drinking with Taeyong on one of the rare nights he had off.

“Do you think I’m pathetic?” is the first thing he says when Taeyong arrives at the bar. 

“Why would I think you're pathetic?” Doyoung did not need to look up from his drink to know that there was a look of concern in Taeyong’s eyes. His tone gave it away. 

(Although, he can’t deny that it is understandable why his friend would give him that look. Doyoung had uncharacteristically called him out with no warning whatsoever asking to drink together, and on a weekday too nonetheless.)

“Because I’m twenty-nine and not married. I don’t even have any prospects and the only potential guy I might be interested in is my boss.”

“Your what?” Taeyong choked on his drink. He grabs a napkin from the dispenser to wipe himself and the table down from where he spilt his drink.

Doyoung let his head fall onto the table, not even registering the hurt. It was nothing compared to how much his heart (and head) hurt. “I can’t believe I’ve finally said it out loud. I think I have feelings for Johnny. It’s so dumb and so cliche.”

“I’m...I don't know what to say. This seems so out of the blue for you.” Taeyong wasn’t sure what to say so instead he just patted the back of his friend in hopes that he would soothe him a bit and provide comfort.

Doyoung was twenty-nine years old and has basically never had a serious boyfriend. Sure he’s had dates and flings here and there but none of those guys ever amounted to anything. Later in his life, he found no such luck either. It didn’t help that after eight years of working at Neo Culture Tech Inc. the only consistent man in his life was Johnny Suh. His boss, of all people.

But I guess it was to be expected considering how much time they spent together. Johnny had been a rather pleasant surprise in Doyoung’s life.

When Doyoung took on the position of executive assistant for Johnny’s dad, he hadn’t expected that he would be in the same position almost eight years later. Fresh out of college, Doyoung did not know what the world had in store for him. Graduating college was already more than enough for him. Joining the real world, he knew it would be difficult but the eldest Suh really helped him. 

By some chance his inexperienced self was hired as the executive assistant of the director of the company, Youngchul Suh. It took a while before he was able to get on the same wavelength as the elder but through perseverance (and a lot of secret alcohol stashed under his desk) he was able to carry out his duties to the best of his abilities. 

Doyoung was content. 

Things took a turn during his second year when Youngchul stepped down from his position as director and became a full time board member. His son was expected to be anointed the same position within the week. But Doyoung didn’t care about that. At the time, the only Doyoung thought about was what was to become of his position. Would he be asked to follow Youngchul? Would his position become obsolete? He really didn’t know but was scared to find out.

Youngchul, the sweetheart that he was, requested—actually more like begged—him to aid his son Youngho as his executive assistant because Doyoung was already familiar with the duties that came with the position. And Youngchul trusted him to guide Youngho well.

Doyoung knew how to keep the show going well enough while Youngho adjusted into his new position as director. Lucky for him, Youngho was too lazy to change anything and simply agreed to whatever Doyoung told him without batting an eyelash. It was one less issue Doyoung had to worry about in his transition of bosses.

His job was fine and he was fine. They would be fine.

Their first year together was a disaster to say the least. Youngho, or Johnny he actually preferred to be called by, made his life a living hell. Not a day went by where Doyoung wasn’t yelled at, scolded, or even occasionally embarrassed. It was way different from Youngchul who was more lax. Doyoung felt like he had ice being thrown on him with how shocked he was. The sad part was that Doyoung didn’t even think that Johnny was aware of how hurtful his actions were towards Doyoung. That’s just how Johnny was as a person.

It was very hard for Doyoung to like him at first.

To say Johnny Suh was an enigma would be completely far from the truth. In fact, there was no one more transparent than he. In kind, humble words, he was self-centered, selfish, and aloof. But he was very smart and that was important to this line of business. He was quick-minded and an excellent problem solver but only ever when it came to business. He was definitely not a people person. 

(Doyoung could probably reference more than fifteen people who would attest and confirm how much he was not a people person.)

Doyoung had picked up on these rather off putting traits within the first couple of weeks of working for the man. Johnny was living at a different pace than what Doyoung was used to.

With the older Suh, Doyoung was used to being at work by 9, leaving around 6 or 7, taking frequent breaks. His life didn’t revolve around work. 

Johnny was different. He required round the clock assistance. It could be eleven at night and Doyoung would receive a call about something mundane that Johnny needed. Being the person that he is though, a majority of the time Doyoung just did things the next day. As long as Johnny didn’t complain then it was fine.

With miserable trials and tribulations, a knocked over coffee here, a criticism of outfit choice there, Doyoung was able to make it work with Johnny. Sure, his life revolved around him now but he liked his job.

It also helped that Doyoung was willing to put himself on the line in order to bring to Johnny’s attention how he felt about the lack of respect Johnny was giving him. Johnny didn’t put on a show and give theatrics about it but he did apologize and promised to do better. 

Doyoung’s job was important and if Johnny wanted to succeed and have Doyoung do his best then he had to treat Doyoung like he was important—which of course he was. 

The assistant was satisfied with the apology (the very Johnny-like apology) and at the fact that he was not fired from his job. They shook hands and promised to work better together.

It was their new start. 

Overtime, Johnny and Doyoung’s relationship eased up and they were finally on the same wavelength with one another. To outsiders, it seemed like Doyoung was the only one Johnny trusted and to be fair it wasn’t very far from the truth. Doyoung liked to think more than just boss and secretary, they were also friends. Maybe not like him and Taeyong but they did talk about other things outside of work.

Weirdly enough, they clicked with one another and were very in tune with each other's emotions. For the most part. 

Twenty-one year old Doyoung would actually not even believe the type of relationship twenty-nine year old Doyoung has with Johnny. His boss was still demanding and still aloof but things were more calm. Johnny had opened up and showed more of his true self to Doyoung than he had anticipated. It was very surprising because Doyoung actually liked the person Johnny was outside of the office. 

This is where the problem he faces lies.

As he had gotten to know Johnny better, he had come to terms with the fact that Johnny was really a catch. He was funny, sometimes awkwardly so. He was smart, Doyoung knew this from day one. He was caring, well he cared about things that were important to him anyways. But Doyoung didn’t mind because no man was without his flaws.

Not even Doyoung himself. Johnny called flawless once, but that's neither here nor there. Doyoung only thought about it five times a day.

He hadn’t come to terms with his feelings until after Johnny’s birthday when they drunkenly shared a small kiss. Call him unprofessional but he would give anything to get another kiss from Johnny. But the following day, Johnny had never mentioned it and in fact had explained that he didn’t remember anything from the night before other than his driver sending him home for the night.

Doyoung had been absolutely gutted. He didn’t think Johnny was drunk enough to have forgotten. But he was strong so he carried on with this job as if nothing had happened. He locked his feelings in a box and threw away the key.

But as time passed his feelings grew and it was getting harder to conceal it. Johnny would say something or do something that would pull him in one step further. 

It seemed like the key to the box of feelings he was hiding in his heart wasn’t thrown away but was thrown to Johnny instead. And Johnny was unlocking it.

Doyoung didn’t even think Johnny realized it either. He was a natural flirt and did the things for sake of just doing them. Sometimes he would compliment Doyoung or would say just the right things to make Doyoungs tummy flutter. He absolutely hated it. He hated it because he loved it.

From the many years he worked under Johnny he had never seen the man in a serious relationship. Sure, there were short term boyfriends and girlfriends here and there but nothing longer than two months.

Nobody knew Doyoung better than himself. As his feelings grew by the day it was beginning to get hard to work for Johnny. He could be an executive assistant somewhere else if he needed to but he could no longer stay at Neo Culture Tech Inc. as long as his feelings were hindering his work. So with a heavy heart he had given Johnny his two week notice before leaving for the night.

That is how Doyoung found himself at the bar with Taeyong comforting him.

“Taeyong, I made the right decision right? Like I’m not dumb for wanting to find a new job because of my personal feelings?”

Taeyong runs his hand through his friend’s black locks, caressing his head. 

“Of course you’re not wrong. Who wants to go to work everyday knowing that they are incapable of doing their job properly? Eventually it’s going to show through your work too.”

“I know I did the right thing but it still hurts. I’ve been there for so long, I don’t even remember a time when I didn't work for the Suhs.” Doyoung says as he picks his head back up and looks at his best friend with a frown etched upon his face. 

“Well, we can worry about it later. Let’s enjoy one more drink then we should go home. If we don’t we'll both regret it tomorrow.”

Doyoung chuckled and held out his cup to cheers with Taeyong.

—

“Jaemin, I’m telling you. He’s leaving the company,” Donghyuck, one of Doyoung’s interns whispers to his co-worker and boyfriend Jaemin. He sets his and Jaemin’s coffee down as he takes the seat next to his boyfriend.

Jaemin shakes his head and continues typing up his report. The same report that was due in three hours. “I don’t believe you, Doyoung would never leave his job here. He’s too loyal to the company and to Director Suh.”

“Why don’t you believe me? I overheard Doyoung talking on the phone as I was grabbing coffee for us.”

Jaemin clicked his tongue and sneered at Donghyuck. “You also said that Renjun was the one who stole my personalized notepad. I literally didn’t talk to him for like a week because of that and I had to buy him lunch for another week to beg for forgiveness when I found out it was really you who stole it.”

“It was a harmless prank, Jaem. You know it was funny too. But I’m really willing to place a wager on this,” Donghyuck smiled, “I know you love betting especially when you think you are right. It's cute.”

“What’s the bet?” Jaemin rolls his eyes. He wishes he wasn’t intrigued but he was and he knew he was probably going to regret it.

“If you win, I’ll do anything you say for a week. If I win, you have to pay for our next date and you can’t act miserable or complain about it.”

“Well, what if it’s a miserable date?” Jaemin cheekily asks.

Donghyuck smirks and holds out his hand to shake on it towards Jaemin. “We both know it won’t be so what do you say?”

Jaemin stares at the hand before finally reaching out to grab it. “Fine.”

Donghyuck grins and places a kiss on the back of his hand to which Jaemin pulls away. “Glad you agreed because I just finished drafting up a list of requirements that Doyoung asked me to post for his job ad.”

Jaemin stands up from his seat incredulously and stands behind Donghyuck and his laptop. He reads the email from Doyoung and hits a laughing Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“That’s cheating. I’m not going out with you. There has to be some kind of universal law that says a person can’t make a bet when they already know the outcome.” Jaemin whines.

“Life isn’t fair, Jaem.”

—

Johnny couldn’t believe it.

Seven (almost) years of perfect synergy between him and his assistant gone with one notice, a single, lousy piece of paper. What had he done wrong for Doyoung to want to quit so out of the blue. In his humble opinion he was the best boss to work for, even better than his dad and that was saying a lot. Johnny has a lot of respect for his dad.

He doesn’t even remember a time where Doyoung wasn’t by his side. He was always there. In the morning, in the afternoon, at night, Doyoung was always there. They were practically married at this point. Well married minus the love, sensual and sexual chemistry (debatable), and the affection (also debatable).

Johnny’s mom had even once entertained the idea of Johnny getting married to Doyoung at one point. But he had been seeing someone at the time so the comment only made him and his assistant feel awkward around each other the following week.

But now being thirty-two, Johnny didn’t think it was such a bad idea. They got along well enough. No one would understand his schedule better than Doyoung and they were highly compatible, in Johnny’s opinion. Plus, sometimes it seemed like Doyoung reciprocated his affection. They definitely had chemistry that was hard to deny. There was literally nothing in the universe that was actually blocking them from being together.

(He knows this because he asked the human resources department about dating between two employees and was told that it was allowed as long as the two workers kept a professional setting at work.)

But before Johnny could even get around to suggesting the idea to Doyoung, Doyoung comes into his office with a two week notice, shaking up his whole plan, and leaves without a word. 

Johnny was dumbfounded.

Instead of working, he leans back in his chair and contemplates all the possible reasons why Doyoung would want to quit. He doesn’t even want to think about not having Doyoung around.

Maybe he needs some time off, he thinks. But he quickly shakes his head at the thought of it. Doyoung could take breaks if he wanted to at any time he wanted to. There was no rule against this. Johnny never blocked him from doing such things either.

It could be that he is working long hours that have severely affected his health, he ponders. But Johnny has told Doyoung many times that he can go home earlier or leave him behind to work but his stubborn assistant alway refuses. He stopped sending work related texts after 8pm so that Doyoung could have the evening to himself. 

Johnny wasn’t sure what it was. But it still didn’t explain why he put in his resignation and why he did it so suddenly without even consulting Johnny or talking it through with him. Doyoung is always calculated and careful. This situation was completely not that.

A soft knock on the door wakes him up from his reverie. He shakes the thoughts from his head and agrees to discuss with Doyoung another time.

Speaking of which, Doyoung walks in staring down at his mini iPad, not taking notice of Johnny's penetrating gaze. He is scrolling through what Johnny presumes is his schedule for the day like he usually does in the morning. He takes a seat across from Johnny’s position behind the desk and remains silently scrolling.

Johnny observes his face and sees nothing out of the ordinary. So Doyoung was fine which means he meant to give his resignation letter.

“Director Suh, we have a three o’clock meeting with the shareholders about the new laptops we are about to put out. We have a five o’clock walkthrough of the new building downtown and your mother wants you to come home for dinner at seven. It’s been awhile since you last went home and she severely misses you,” Doyoung says with finality. He gives an approving nod once he is satisfied that he mentioned all the important schedules for the day. 

When he finally looks up to make eye contact with his boss he sees him with arms crossed glaring at him. “Um, Director, why are you looking at me like that?” Doyoung was uncomfortable under the glare he was receiving.

Johnny didn’t even realize he was glaring at Doyoung. At first he was just admiring Doyoung’s looks, then he was admiring the nice grey suit he had been wearing. It fit like it was made for Doyoung and for that Johnny felt bad about checking him out. He then just tried to look focused but then thoughts of Doyoung quitting popped into his mind and his face must have resorted to glaring.

“I just don’t understand.” Johnny purses his lips. 

Doyoung arches his brow in confusion. “Don’t understand what?”

“Why are you quitting?”

Doyoung sighs. He quickly shuts off the iPad and places it on the desk in between them. “Director, sorry I should have talked to you when I handed it in. It’s not that I’m not happy here, I am and I’m grateful for everything really but I think I need to move onto the next phase of my life.”

Johnny tilts his head, “And what is that?”

“Do you want me to be honest?”

Johnny nods.

“And you won’t get mad or hurt?”

He holds up a pinky as a gesture of good faith. “I promise.”

“I’m ready to settle down and find out who I am as Kim Doyoung. I want to find new hobbies, maybe even finally chase my dreams of being a writer. Before I got a job here I wanted to be a writer so maybe I’ll pursue that.” It was a bullshit answer, Doyoung knew, but he obviously couldn’t give his real reason because that would really throw a wrench into the works. 

Johnny furrows his brows. “You can’t do that while working for me?”

“Honestly, no. I wake up at five in the morning and go home at eight at night. I’m usually asleep by ten. I hardly have enough time during the day to even reach out to my friends or my brothers. It’s hard.”

“I told you to leave early!” Johnny counters back.

“If I leave early, something will go wrong and you’ll call me anyways. It’s better if I stay behind to ensure that you get all the things you need done without any problems. You need me around.”

“Exactly! I need you around. You know me better than me.”

Doyoung thinks for a moment on how to respond. He eventually replies with, “That may be true but it doesn’t change the fact that I need more time to do these things and as long as I work here I can’t.”

Johnny rubs his chin, taking all of Doyoung’s words into consideration. He knows that he and Doyoung spent a lot of time together and his work hours were a bit gruesome. But things can always be remedied.

“Well what if I reduced your hours? I’ll pay you more too so that you can take classes. Would that help?” Johnny carefully offers. He doesn’t want to offend Doyoung but he’s also very desperate to keep Doyoung aboard.

“Ah, you are too kind but I’ve already made up my mind and I’m not going back. I actually wanted to talk to you about something else too. I’ve found myself a replacement already.” Doyoung sees an indescribable expression forming on Johnny’s face. “Don’t worry, he will shadow me for the remainder of my time here before I leave so you will be in good hands. Please give him a chance. He’s fresh out of college.”

Johnny tried not to grimace at the mention of a new secretary. No one could replace the effectiveness and impact Doyoung has made on his work life. Even if he hadn’t met the new assistant yet he already knew that he didn’t like him. He was not Doyoung and probably couldn’t manage him better than Doyoung. Granted, he’s never actually met the kid. 

“Cheer up, Director. It's a happy time. I’ll be back in thirty minutes with coffee.” Doyoung awkwardly smiles and bows before trying to walk out of the spacious office. But before he can leave Johnny calls him back.

“Doyoung, can you please fix my tie? I messed it up this morning but I can’t seem to get it right.”

Doyoung feigns annoyance and shakes his head. But nonetheless he walks over and grabs the knot of Johnny’s tie. 

While he fixes it, Johnny stares down at Doyoung’s face for the second time that day. He is mesmerized by his assistant’s alluring eyes; they’ve always captivated him. Even on Johnny’s first day as Director, Doyoung’s eyes displayed passion, confidence, and eagerness. His button nose was a real national treasure. He also always sticks his tongue out when he concentrates and Johnny finds it very, very cute. 

How Johnny didn’t pick up on his physical attraction to Doyoung he doesn’t know. But at least he was in tune with his feelings now.

“It’s cute how you scrunch up your nose and let your tongue poke out when you are concentrating on something,” Johnny coyly says.

Doyoung doesn’t even bother to look up at him and scoffs instead. But the heat rushing to his cheeks doesn’t escape Johnny’s eye. He gives a small smile at the effect he has on Doyoung.

Once the tie is tightened and fixed Doyoung proceeds to smooth out any other wrinkles in Johnny’s shirt with his hand as he does every morning. It was almost domestic and Johnny loved every minute of it. He wondered if Doyoung felt the same. 

They make eye contact as Doyoung brushes over Johnny’s shoulders, his hand lingering a little longer than Johnny thinks he intended to, not that he minded. Doyoung must have realized what he had done because he immediately pulls back his hands and dries them on his own slacks.

“Right, so I’m going to get the coffee.” With that Doyoung hurriedly leaves the office.

Johnny goes back to thinking by himself. 

If money and reduced hours was not enough, he would have to find some other way to keep Doyoung in his position. He could maybe manage some of his own affairs? But he actually did not think that there was much to fix, since whatever problems there were, Doyoung fixed them a long time ago. He shakes his head at his own suggestion.

He hated feeling like he was acting selfishly but he really couldn’t let Doyoung go. Doyoung was valuable.

—

Taeil rubs his temples in annoyance for the billionth time that week. He could not believe the words that were coming out of his best friend slash boss’ mouth. Johnny has said top notch crazy things, but this beats them all. It makes all his previous statements seem totally sane.

“You want to marry Doyoung? Do you even know him that well?”

Johnny scoffs, “Of course, I know him. He’s been my secretary for seven years. How could I not know him? Besides I said I want to court him, marriage is not on the table yet.”

Taeil, his vice president, shakes his head and drinks his tea. “Sure, you’ve worked with him for seven years but do you know anything personal about him? His likes? Dislikes? Do you even know his favorite color? Or what his favorite bubble tea flavor is”

“I uh,” Johnny rubs his chin, “I think his favorite color is red.”

“Wrong, it’s green.”

“How do you know?”

Taeil straightens his blazer and leans back in his chair. “For his work anniversary last week, your staff held a party for him and it was green themed or something. I remember because my assistant Chenle came in with a piece of matcha cake, explaining how everything had to be green because Doyoung loved green, tripped over the rug and got it on my white shirt. I really loved that shirt.”

Johnny perks up. “It was his anniversary last week? What day?” 

“You didn’t know?” Taeil sets down his tea and looks over to his friend. He can’t decipher if the expression on Johnny’s face is surprised and panicked or calculating and scheming. Either way whatever his friend was thinking, it was definitely not going to be a good idea. 

“He didn’t say anything to me. How was I supposed to know?”

“And you actually want to date him? He’s been working for you for seven years and you don’t even know when he started? How are you going to remember important things about him or even important dates if you don’t even know something as minor as this now.”

Johnny tries to defend himself but fails miserably because deep down he knows Taeil is right. “Doyoung usually tells me these things.”

Taeil only shakes his head in a disapproving manner.

Johnny frowns at this. “Then what should I do?”

“Well think about why you want to date him in the first place? Do you actually think you like him like that enough to spend the rest of your life together or are you just desperate to keep him around because he’s good at managing your life.”

The question left a little pang in Johnny’s heart. Taeil was right even though Johnny didn’t want him to be. They were all valid questions that Johnny really needed to think long and hard about.

“Well, I thought we were always going to spend the rest of our time together. With me eventually moving onto CEO and him staying as my secretary until he retires.”

Taeil shakes his head. “Johnny, life does not work like that.”

The director slumps in his seat. 

“Do you think it’s wrong that it’s both? I want to keep him around constantly and because of that I think I may have strong genuine feelings for him beyond him being my secretary.”

“As long as you don’t get your emotions mixed up and hurt Doyoung in the process, your emotions are valid.” Johnny thanks his friend and walks out of his office and moves back towards his own.

For the rest of the day Johnny was lost in his thoughts

Taeil had raised many good points that Johnny might have been too rash to even consider. What if Doyoung really wasn’t interested in him? Johnny would never force him into something he didn’t want. 

What if his own feelings are mixed up between familiarity and adoration? The director knows there may be something more to his feelings towards his secretary that he never let himself feel before.

Even though he didn’t doubt himself before, he started to doubt his feelings. Sure, Doyoung was leaving but that only helped Johnny realize his feelings faster. He needed Doyoung in his life. 

As much as it hurts to say, because he now realizes that he is the person who was technically pushing away his best employee, Doyoung was more than a work secretary to him. He was also a life secretary who ensured that Johnny’s life was easy. 

There was obviously an attraction between them and it was obvious to anyone who saw it. He appreciated Doyoung for everything he did and everything he is. If Johnny had braved it the night after the kiss, maybe things would have gone differently for them.

Maybe things would have been way different.

If Doyoung didn’t want to stay as his secretary that was fine and as his boss he respected it. But there was no way he was going to let slip away from his life. 

—

“Good morning Doyoung. I bought you something. I’m sorry I missed your work anniversary last week. It must have slipped my mind.” Johnny walked into the office with a pip in his step. He greeted everyone who crossed his path and even complimented the interns. Donghyuck and Jaemin were really confused but accepted the compliments given to them by their boss’ boss.

Doyoung was also shocked to see Johnny in such a good mood. He checked his watch to make sure the time was correct. Anytime before ten in the morning, Johnny literally hated speaking to people. Sometimes he didn’t even want to speak to Doyoung but as his secretary Doyoung forced him to speak to him.

“My anniversary is not a big thing.” Doyoung blushed, obviously happy about the gift he had been given. People lie but facial expressions don’t. Johnny was just happy to be the one to put the smile on Doyoung’s face.

“It is! Eight years is a long time so I bought you the best chocolate money can buy. I hope you enjoy it. There would be no need to thank me for this either. It's all from the bottom of my heart.”

Doyoung smiles gratefully until he reads the ingredients on the box. Then his toothy grin drops to a tight lipped smile. One that someone might miss if they didn’t know Doyoung and his facial expressions. Johnny can easily see that there is something wrong.

“Oh, um, thank you Johnny but I can’t eat this.” Doyoung hands the box of chocolates back into Johnny’s hands. “I’m severely allergic to nuts and some of the chocolates in the assortment contain nuts.”

Johnny blanches and takes the box back from Doyoung. “Oh goodness, I am so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine. I’m really appreciative of the gesture though. It was very nice of you. Not many bosses appreciate their employees like you. I’m touched.” His assistant brings back the toothy grin.

“Now I feel really bad.” Johnny can’t even look at Doyoung, he is so ashamed. Taeil was right. How much did he actually know about Doyoung for him to say and think they were compatible, all feelings put aside.

“You can make it up to me by being nice to your new secretary. He is very bright. I promise you will love him.”

Doyoung stands up and goes to fix Johnny’s collar that was partially unfolded. It was another habit that Doyoung did that Johnny would miss when he left. 

If he felt like Doyoung’s attention was solely focused on him, he wondered what it looked to people outside their companionship.

“Um excuse me?” A meek voice calls out. Johnny and Doyoung turn around to face where the sound came from, making the poor guy blush under the gazes on him.

Doyoung releases his hands from Johnny’s collar and holds them behind his back. “Yes?”

“My name is Mark Lee and I’m here to see Kim Doyoung.” Doyoung grins almost immediately. He quickly walks forward to shake the hand of his new replacement.

“Ah yes! Sorry I didn’t recognize you. You dyed your hair black, I was expecting a blonde Mark Lee.” Mark awkwardly laughs and scratches the back of his nape. Doyoung ushers the new secretary to the desk next to him and helps him settle in, leaving Johnny to stand there alone.

It hadn’t hit him until Mark came in that Doyoung was actually going to be leaving his post soon. Like actually leaving and not coming back. There would be no more Johnny and Doyoung. It would now be Johnny and Mark. The sound of the latter was not as pleasant to hear as the former. But Johnny was a bit biased.

His new secretary seemed like a decent kid from the whole three minutes he had seen him. He was polite, respectful and it seemed like actually cared about what Doyoung told him. He was no Doyoung but he would be fine. Johnny would let Mark’s work speak for him when the time came.

“Ah I almost forgot, Mark this is Director Johnny Suh.” Doyoung face palmed. He motioned his hands toward the taller man, awkwardly still standing in the same place he had been when Doyoung was fixing his collar.

Mark bowed and greeted Johnny politely. “I’m Mark Lee. I just graduated from university with a bachelor’s in communications. I hope I can live up to being a good assistant to you.”

Doyoung nods proudly at his choice. He looks over to Johnny excitedly and gives a thumbs up behind Mark’s head. Johnny lets out a soft chuckle and winks at Doyoung. It’s cute how excited he was getting about hiring the perfect guy to fill his position.

Johnny holds out his hand for Mark to take. “Welcome aboard to the team. I hope you find working here lovely. If you need anything ask Doyoung, he has been nothing short of exemplary. The ideal assistent. You could learn a lot from him.”

Doyoung smiles once more. He then turns back to Mark, “Let me introduce you to some of the others on our team, namely my interns. You guys are about the same age so I think you’ll get along well.”

With that Doyoung takes Mark for a walk towards the working area, leaving the director behind. He only gets halfway down the hall when he turns back around and gives Johnny a thumbs up.  
Probably for his job well done on accepting Mark with open arms like Doyoung wanted him too.

Johnny had done good in Doyoung’s books. He smiles at the confirmation received from Doyoung and heads back into his office to do work.

—

Jaemin comes back in from his allotted fifteen minute break to a very stern looking Donghyuck. His boyfriend had been waiting at his desk and from the looks of it, it must have been for a while. 

“Jaemin, you just missed meeting Doyoung’s new replacement.”

The intern’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He wasn’t expecting Doyoung to have found a new replacement so soon.

“What’s he like?” Jaemin inquires. 

Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. I only know his name. It’s Mark Lee.”

Jaemin sets his stuff down and bites his lip. He looks back to Donghyuck. “Should we stalk him on social media?” 

“Duh, I was waiting for you to come back before I did anything.”

Jaemin grins.

—

A week had passed and Johnny was no closer to knowing how Doyoung feels about him. After another long talk with Taeil, he decided that it was best to make his intentions clear to Doyoung. Perhaps before he was all talk, but now he is ready to show through his actions. What better way to express himself than to play hooky for the day.

(Like really, he was pretty much the big boss. Who was going to tell on him?)

Doyoung had come into the office to bring him his second coffee of the day. Mark was getting well adjusted into his work life. He was able to come in and start on the task given to him by Doyoung without asking for help. It would be a lie to say, how impressed Johnny was for MArk being able to pick up the tasks so easily. Johnny had also grown used to having Mark around. It was cute how enthusiastic he was, always asking Doyoung questions about everything. Sometimes he even slipped up and asked Johnny questions. For some reason, he didn’t mind answering them either.

“Doyoung, I was thinking...cancel my meetings today. Send Mark to go work on his stuff with the interns today and let's do something fun.”

Doyoung sets down his coffee and looks at him funny. “You? Wanting to do something fun? On a work day...are you alright?” The corner of Johnny’s lips quirk upward. Doyoung is so endearing when he tries to hide the fact that he’s excited by the prospect of doing something out of the ordinary.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just thought that maybe we needed a change of pace for a bit. You are leaving me soon and we won’t have these me and you times anymore,” He dramatically sighs.

“I’m leaving my position technically, not you. But alright, what did you have in mind?”

“Lets go to the new indoor trampoline place. It’ll be fun.”

Doyoung tries not to laugh. The trampoline place? He had told his brothers he would never be caught stepping foot in that place. Who wanted to be around a bunch of hyper kids jumping around, bugging you? He promised himself to never go there unless he was accompanying a kid. But if it means seeing Johnny look like a fool then he is willing to go. Technically, Johnny was still a kid at heart, that got to count for something.

Doyoung nods and gets everything set.

Johnny leans back in his chair happy about the outcome. Doyoung was not one to do anything that broke rules but yet today he was willing to rearrange his schedule so that they could have some fun together. It meant alot to Johnny. 

Thirty minutes later, Doyoung walks back in telling Johnny he is ready. Mark had been situated with his interns, his meetings booked for another day and his driver waiting downstairs to take them out. Doyoung claimed that Mark didn’t ask any questions but that based on the look on his face he knew something was going on between Doyoung and Johnny. 

The time it took to get from the building to the place Johnny wanted to go only took about fifteen minutes. Johnny didn’t realize just how close the indoor gym actually was to his building, not that this was a place he had no plans of frequenting.

When they got inside, Johnny was the first to pick the room where they started jumping. Doyoung was embarrassed at first but seeing Johnny having fun carelessly had him excited. So they jumped and jumped and jumped around. Finally Doyoung had to stop because he was out of breath from laughing too much. Both sit on the outer ring mats where most of the adults were sitting watching their kids.

“We look funny jumping around in suits you know. All the parents are staring at us like we are crazy.” Doyoung looked over to the other adults who had been blatantly eyeing them weirdly.

“Learn to live a little, Doyoung.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you? I’m constantly trying to get you out of the office. You never want to go anywhere when I suggest for us to do something.”

Johnny chooses to stay silent. 

“Ah sorry, I just made things awkward didn’t I?” Doyoung bit his tongue.

“No it’s okay I was just thinking.” Johnny bumps Doyoung’s shoulder with his own. 

“Be honest with me, Doyoung. Do you think I am a bad boss?”

Doyoung actually looked horrified at the suggestion. “Of course not. I’m sorry if I made you feel like that. I just think that I am in the time of my life where I want to explore other things. Do you get me?”

“Yeah I get you.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret of mine.” Johnny nods and listens.

“When I was younger I had always wanted to be a writer but I needed to put myself through college to do it. My parents couldn’t really afford for me to go to college so I got a few jobs so that I could pay my tuition. I was barely scraping by but I was able to do it. And I was so lucky that almost immediately after graduating your dad took a chance on me and let me work as his secretary. It was easy because your dad is really low maintenance and the pay was good. But when he retired and you took over. My time kind of slipped away and here we are seven years later.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? I think it's a bit admirable. You put in hard work for the company so that it can thrive and even though you do come off cold sometimes, you mean well. Everyone knows it.”

“Do you think I took your youth away from my many demands?” He questions. Johnny needed reassurance to know that he didn’t ruin Doyoung’s life. 

“Definitely not. I never really thought of it like that. Sure, I work longer hours than most but I’m happy and even if I have a few regrets, this job was not one of them.” Doyoung means it. Sure, he complains, rants, gets frustrated over his job but he loves it and if it weren’t for his lingering feelings for Johnny, he’s sure he would have stayed for a long time.

“I would really love for you to stay but I think I need to let you go now. I promise that I will be more flexible with Mark so that he has a good work-life balance.”

Doyoung nods, feeling a bit guilty for lying to Johnny. While work-life balance was actually something Doyoung did need to improve on, he was sad that he made Johnny feel like everything was his fault. Like he let Doyoung down or something which was obviously not the case. But he wasn’t quite ready to let Johnny know the real reason so he comforted and reaffirmed Johnny that it was not his fault.

“I really hope you find what you are looking for in life, Doyoung.” Johnny holds out his hand for Doyoung to take. It was a risk but he was willing to take it. 

Doyoung looked down at the hand and then back at Johnny. Hesitantly, he takes it.

They don’t let go of each other for the remainder of the day. 

Johnny smiles at the recollection of the whole day he has had with Doyoung. It felt like a step in the right direction. They had even held hands for the remainder of the time when they weren’t jumping around. The fact that Doyoung was willing too hold hands and share secrets and stuff really gave him so hope.

Before Doyoung got out of the car to walk back into the building to check on his interns, he turned around and looked at Johnny, who was set to go home without going back into the building.

“Johnny, do you think I can have tomorrow off?”

—

Doyoung panicked. He really panicked.

His mini outing with boss really set him to panic. 

How could he not when they had held hands and talked about deep stuff. Doyoung couldn’t believe how open he was being with Johnny, the object of his affections.

He had just admitted his feelings to himself and there he was doing the complete opposite of what he should be doing. He was mostly leaving to not feel hurt over his unrequited feelings but Johnny was pulling him back in day by day. Every day that passed had Doyoung dreading leaving. Before he was sure of his decision but now that he was getting the feeling that maybe there was something more, he wasn’t so sure about his decision.

So he did the best thing he could do. Take the day off and mull things over while he sulked in the privacy of his home. He had already tasked his two interns and Mark of what needed to be done. Bless Mark Lee’s little heart as he asked if Doyoung wanted him to pick him up some food for lunch. He was wonderful and he felt bad for declining his offer. 

But he planned on staying at home with no outside interactions with anyone. It was Doyoung day. A day dedicated to wondering the hell he’s doing with himself. He can’t believe he’s letting some guy influence his decision but at the same time without said guy there would not have even been a problem in the first place. 

Having the day off was nice. He had slept in and cooked himself a nice breakfast that wasn’t a granola bar or cereal. He finally did the laundry he had been meaning to do for the past few days. He finally did some research on writing short stories and publishing them online. He cleaned his apartment a little and now he was just relaxing in his pajamas.

Doyoung was sitting on his couch watching tv, something he hadn’t done in quite a long time, when he heard his phone vibrating from his nightstand. 

Pausing the show he was currently watching, he gets up and goes over to his phone. He promised himself that he would waste his day looking at his phone for any potential emails or calls that might prompt to start working (even if only for awhile). If it was important he would answer, if it wasn’t someone important he would just go back and plop himself down on the couch.

When he sees Mark’s name on the screen, he quickly picks up. Mark rarely calls him, only ever texting him as most kids his age do. (Donghyuck and Jaemin had added him into a “work” group chat with them and Mark so he knows how much they like to text). He deduces something might be wrong. He closes his eyes hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

“Hello?” Doyoung hesitantly says.

“Doyoung, I know you are off today but I really need help. Oh god, I don’t know what I’m doing. Please help.” Mark’s voice was laced with panic. He had never heard any other tone besides enthusiastic from Mark.

“Don't worry I’m coming. Wait for me downstairs.”

With that he hangs up the phone and changes out of his pajamas. Arguably, he doesn’t have to help Mark since 1) it was his day off and 2) Mark will never learn to deal with these types of situations if Doyoung solves it for him but hearing Mark stress in such a state of panic reminded him of when he was starting out on the job. He wished he had a mentor to help him through these things so that he can grow as an employee. Doyoung didn’t want to be anything less than a good mentor to Mark (and even Jaemin and Donghyuck). He rushed to the office.

He practically ran from the bus stop to the office, not minding the fact that his hair looked in disarray and that he probably looked crazy running while wearing a cardigan and jeans down the street in a financial district full of businessmen and women walking around.

Mark waves him down as he gets outside the office building. Doyoung waves back and stops for a moment to catch his breath. Mark lets him but still looks terrified.

Once he catches his breath, he looks up to Mark. “What is it that you need help with?”

Immediately Mark starts explaining the situation to him. “You know how Director Suh fired one of the managers last week for incompetence in the development meeting?” Doyoung nods. “Well the manager is threatening to sue the company and Director Suh for unlawful termination.”

“Did you go to HR or legal? This should fall on their shoulders not yours Mark.” He stresses.

Mark nods his head. “I did but the manager refuses to speak to anyone but to Director Suh. But obviously we don’t want that guy to be around the director. Who knows what he will do.”

“Hm this is a problem.” Doyoung purses his lips.

“He’s in the lobby, I tried to talk to him but he won’t listen to me.”

“Don't worry Mark. We can settle this together. Let’s go, we have a few stops to go before we confront the manager.”

Thirty minutes, two department visits, and a bathroom break later, Doyoung and Mark walk back down to the lobby to confront the disgruntled manager. Despite his lack of professional clothing, Doyoung was in professional mode. Mark walked behind him because based on the hard expression on his face, Doyoung was about to lay down the law. He didn’t want to get in the way of whatever Doyoung was going to do in this situation.

He walks over to the couch in the lobby where the manager was sitting and takes a seat in the chair across from it. As there was only one, Mark chose to stand behind Doyoung, trying and probably failing to hide the fact that he was scared of the situation at hand. 

“Mr. Park, what a pleasure to see you.” Doyoung greeted fake pleasantries.

The manager seems to read through Doyoung’s calm demeanor and scoffs at his approach. “Don’t give me that crap Doyoung. Where is Suh?”

Doyoung looks down at his watch. “He is currently in a meeting right now. But I will be happy to solve whatever issue you currently have right now since you chose not to speak with Director Suh’s other secretary Mark.” He motions his hands toward Mark. The former manager doesn’t even bother to look at Mark and focuses his attention to Doyoung.

“I will only speak to Suh.”

“I get that you are upset over being fired however, I think it would be for the best that you leave the premises.” Doyoung says as calmly as he can. 

“And if I don’t?”

Doyoung's grin widens as he leans closer so that ensure that the former employee hears him closely.

“If you don’t I will have to give the police involved and we both know you don’t want that.”

“I'm not scared. Call security, I have a right to request a meeting with the company head to discuss my unjust firing.”

The smile on Doyoung’s face drops. “Actually you don’t. Director Suh is quite busy. Now please leave.”

“Not until I see the Director.” The former employee demands.

“Mr. Park, I will ask you one last time. If you don’t leave the premises, I will be forced to get the police involved. And whoa what do you know, we have a pending case against you for taking bribes from clients. A hefty bribe from our rival company to sell information? That is actually a felony. Who knows what will happen to you?” Doyoung says, feigning wonder.

“Now, let me tell you again. Leave this building, never come back, and if I hear of any kind of company secrets getting out, and don't think I wont find out because I know everything, I will report this over to the police.”

The other said nothing but turned on his heel and exited the building.

Once Doyoung felt satisfied enough he stood up and smoothed out his outfit. He looks to Mark and gives him a pat on the back and motions to walk with him towards the elevator. 

“Whoa, that was so cool Doyoung. How did you know about his bribery?”

“I have friends in different departments that like to talk. Here is a life tip Mark, it’s good to befriend people in other departments. You always want to have a friend in other departments who have your back. Just be sure to have theirs too when they need it.”

Mark nods and writes that down in the notepad he was carrying. Doyoung pushes the elevator to go up to their floor.

“Don’t worry that you were stressed in this situation. When I first started I was scared to show any kind of authority because I was young, which is probably how you feel now. Even if you are, don’t let anybody speak down to you. Show them that you are not one to be messed with even if you have no idea what you are doing.”

Mark nods his head again.

The elevator dings and they both enter the empty lift. With incidents like this, they need to write up a report to give to security downstairs to ensure that nothing like it happens again. Plus they send it to risk management to put the former employee on a watch list. He doubts Mark even knows about it so he opted to help with his very first one. 

But instead of walking straight to their desks, Mark walks over to the work area once he sees his friends working at their computers.

“Jaemin, Donghyuck, Renjun, you will never guess what just happened?” All three lift their heads at the mention of their names. Seeing the excited look on their friend's face, all three of them get up from their seats and drag Mark to what Doyoung assumes is the break room.

He stares fondly at the young ones walking away. He was only a smidge hurt that they didn’t acknowledge him and instead brushed past him. He supposed though maybe they didn’t recognize him in his regular out of work clothes. They’ll definitely be getting a lecture in the group chat later that day.

Doyoung checks his watch and is about to turn around to head out for the rest of the day when he bumps into a hard chest. He looks up and locks eyes with his boss, surprise evident on his face at the fact that Doyoung is in the office on his day off.

“Doyoung? What are you doing here?”

“Oh Mark had some trouble and asked for some help. Since I wasn't doing anything I decided to come here and help him out like the good mentor I am.”

Johnny accepts the answer and looks at his own watch. 

“Well it’s lunch time, did you drive here?”

“No, I took the bus.”

“Let me drive you home?” 

Doyoung says nothing else other than, “Sure.”

The fifteen minute car ride was silent as Doyoung gathered his thoughts. He wasn’t sure what to say to Johnny. Scratch that, he knew exactly what he wanted to say but couldn’t find the courage to say it. He had been thinking the night before and when he really thought about it, what was holding him back from admitting his feelings? In three days time, he was no longer going to be an employee of Johnny’s. If things went bad, he’d never have to see him again. If things went good, nothing would really change except maybe the potential to become something with Johnny.

He was going to confess his feelings to Johnny. 

His thoughts were processing faster than he could comprehend. He didn’t even notice when Johnny stopped the car in front of his house. 

Neither of them moved even though they had arrived at their destination. 

Doyoung is the first to break the silence between them. “Is it weird that after today I don’t think I want to quit anymore?”

“Oh? How so?”

“I kind of feel like I jumped the gun and me helping Mark today made me realize that I don't think I'm ready to leave my job.” Doyoung continues bravely, “Or you.”

“Doyoung…”

Doyoung shakes his head and looks down at the hands in his lap. He was very much trying not to make eye contact with Johnny, even though he could feel the other's gaze on his face. “Sorry was that out of place to say?’

“No, actually I feel the same way.” Johnny confesses.

Doyoung’s head whips to face Johnny. “What are we doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know when but sometime last year, I started developing feelings for you and it wasn’t easy. I was ready to quit doing something I loved because I knew it would never happen. It was never really about those other things, although I do care about them; they weren't my main reason for putting my notice in. But these past couple of days, and please tell me if I'm wrong, but it feels like you’ve been reciprocating my feelings too.”

“No, you are correct.”

“If I’m right then why aren’t we together? Why haven’t you directly asked me out?”

“Because I was scared. I was trying to get a feel for if you liked me too as more than just your boss. I had to be sure because there were so many things that could go wrong. I also didn't want to overwhelm you or make you feel uncomfortable. I had to be sure.” Johnny says. 

“I feel like I’ve been really transparent about my feelings. Even the interns have caught on.” Doyoung teases. It’s true, though, the interns had made passing comments about it when they went to lunch together. Even Mark had said something, stemming from the first day he met Doyoung and Johnny in person.

“Doyoung, I was literally willing to do anything I could to keep you by my side but Taeil said I should be sure of my feelings for you first and he was right. I want to keep you around not just as my assistant but as my person. My person is you Doyoung.”

“This is crazy but I want to be your person too. And I want you to be mine too if you want to be. Do you think we can make this work?” Doyoung is trying to stop his widening grin but it is of no use. The smile crept up his face regardless.

“Of course I want to be. I hope this means you aren’t quitting?” Johnny flutters his eyelashes at Doyoung.

“I guess I can stay for a while longer. But just so we are clear it's not because of you. I just love being an executive assistant and I love my family at the office. Those intern kids drive me crazy and I will miss them when they go back to college but they really help make my time here enjoyable.”

“They are only here for the summer? I could’ve sworn that Donghyuck has been here for years.”

Doyoung shrugs. “His presence is just like that.”

“Are he and Jaemin, you know?”

“Duh. They were together before they even started working here.” 

“Hm, I guess I will miss them too when they leave.”

“Well to be fair Manager Lee hired Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Renjun to be a part of the team so look forward to them coming back in next summer.”

“I’m so excited.” Johnny deadpans. Doyoung shakes his head and hits Johnny on the shoulder. 

“Wait, what about Mark?”

“You know. Having two secretaries doesn't seem too bad.”

“Hmm I can’t say that Mark didn’t take a lot off my plate this past week. I guess it will come in handy so that I can keep dating this guy I'm interested in.” 

Johnny looks over to the passenger seat. Doyoung is already staring back at him.“Oh really?”

“Yup. With my load lightened I have more time to do other things like going on dates or building a blog where I can post my short stories.”

“Doyoung, that's a great idea.”

“I started writing with the free time Mark had given me since I was getting home so early. I’ve already finished a few and I've received positive feedback from my family so that’s good news. I may not become an author but I do enjoy sharing my stories with others.”

“I’m glad.” Johnny caresses Doyoung’s face with his hand. Doyoung also leans into the touch. 

Without wanting to get too comfortable in the seat, Doyoung unfastens his seatbelt and gathers his things. “Well, I guess I should go up now.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to come up?” Doyoung stops fidgeting in his seat. 

“Sure.”

“Ok, but don’t expect anything other than macaroni and cheese and tv.”

“Sounds perfect.” Both Johnny and Doyoung laugh as they get out of the car. It was the start of a beautiful relationship.

—

“Hey guys, I’m back.”

Donghyuck gets up from his desk and runs over to Doyoung. On any other day, Doyoung might have tried to shrug Donghyuck off but today he let his intern hug him. He was in too good of a mood to not. “Doyoung, I’m so sad that it's your last week. What am I going to do without you? Who is going to write me a good letter of recommendation? Who is going to tell Manager Lee go easy on me?”

Doyoung couldn’t help but chuckle at Donghyuck’s current state of panic. “Even if I didn't work here I would still write you one, you know this Donghyuck. And remember to be nice to Manager Lee, he hired you.” But his words had no effect on the intern as he continued to squeeze the daylights out of Doyoung.

Eventually, he releases Doyoung and lets Jaemin and Mark greet Doyoung as well. It had only been a day that Doyoung was out but the young adults realized how big of a presence Doyoung was in the office.

“Actually, I’ve stopped by to let you know that I’ve decided to stay. I can’t imagine doing anything else but working here and taking care of you guys.” 

Jaemin and Donghyuck jump up and down in excitement. Renjun congratulates Doyoung and gives him an unexpected hug. He wasn’t very familiar with Renjun since he was interning under another manager but through his own two interns he had learned to know more about him.

Mark also steps forward and joins Donghyuck and Jaemin in jumping around. The three of them shouted, albeit quietly, their cheers at the news. Doyoung was going to stay and remain the director’s executive assistant.

At the thought, Mark stops for a moment. “Wait, if you are staying then that means I have no job.”

“Actually, Director Suh was really impressed by your capabilities despite still being new. He decided to have two assistants. Think of it like this. You will do the day to do task while I overlook the larger big picture tasks. Of course, we will be able to help each other. This also frees both of our times up.” Doyoung soothes Mark’s worries. It seems to have worked as the younger just smiled and nodded, returning back to his friends.

Just then, Johnny passes by the commotion and looks at Doyoung. The secretary mouths ‘I told them the news’ and Johnny just smiles. If anyone in the office liked Doyoung more than him, it was definitely those interns of his.

“Doyoung, please come into my office.” Johnny tilts his head towards his office. Doyoung dismisses himself from the office area with promises of returning with lunch for the team to celebrate.

As soon as Doyoung enters the office he closes the door behind him. He walks over to the seat across Johnny’s desk chair. Johnny had taken it upon himself to sit on the desk, leaning against it. “Yes?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to see you.” The director smiles. He leans down and gives a peck to Doyoung’s lips. It was the first time either him or Johnny had initiated any form of intimacy in the office. Besides last night’s kiss that Doyoung may have initiated before Johnny left home, this was the first time they’ve actually kissed since they’ve agreed to give dating a try. Doyoung pulls back before anything goes further.

“Seriously?” Doyoung tries to hold back his smile but fails miserably. “We really need to keep it professional here. No PDA under any circumstances.”

“Just this once?” Johnny pouts.

Doyoung bits his lips but reluctantly agrees. “Hm fine just this once.”

Johnny leans down for another kiss, this time with Doyoung willing to accept it. It was a crazy good kiss in Doyoung’s opinion. Not that he had many to compare Johnny to but he imagined that this is what the main characters in movies feel when they kiss their desired partners. And Johnny was Doyoung’s desired partner. 

It might have taken him some time to accept the fact but he’s glad he did because despite all Johnny’s outside accolades, he was romantic, genuine and despite sometimes being dumb he really made an effort into things. Doyoung really couldn’t ask more from a partner.

The kiss must have gotten away from them because before they could pull away, they heard a very distinct, “Oh my god.”

Doyoung is quick to pull away and sees Mark standing by the door, iPad in hand, mouth open in shock. When he makes eye contact with Doyoung he gasps and quickly covers his eyes and turns to leave the office. Doyoung covers his laughter when Mark accidentally bumps into the side of the wall when escaping Johnny’s office. 

Once outside the office, Doyoung can see Mark run to the working area through the clear openings in the office walls, obviously running to tell his friends about what he saw transpire between Doyoung and Johnny.

“You know he is going to tell his little friend group right?” Doyoung turns around crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t really mad but he wanted to keep Johnny on edge. 

“It was going to get out eventually.” This was true because unfortunately for him, his interns were comfortable enough to hound him with many questions at all times, not that he minded.

“Yes but I was hoping to worry about it later. Like after we became an official couple not just dating.”

Johnny shrugs nonchalantly, “We’ll get there eventually Doyoung. But for now, since we already got caught we might as well continue.” He leans forward to keep kissing Doyoung but is met with Doyoung’s palm instead.

“Nope, we have a busy day today.” The assistant pulls out his phone and starts looking through Johnny’s schedule for the day. Much to do and so little time.

“What would I do without you?” Johnny asks, staring at Doyoung lovingly.

His secretary slash lover grins, “You would be lost. Now chop, chop, we have things to do.”


End file.
